The record of the Beijing Olympics is “satisfactory“says the Minister of Sports, Roxanna Maracineanu, as many athletes return to France this Monday, February 21. A medal is missing to reach the 15 in Pyeongchang, 4 years ago. But special mention for the biathlon which brings in 7 medals, including 4 for our Isérois Émilien Jacquelin and Anaïs Chevalier Bouchet.”It gives a lot of credit to the work we do“at the climatic high school of Villard-de-Lans, estimates on France Bleu Isère Thierry Dusserre, former biathlete, Olympic relay medalist and biathlon figure in the Vercors and trainer at the climatic high school.
France Bleu Isère: Were you surprised by such a harvest of medals for biathlon?
Thierry Dusserre: No, not surprised, I would even say that it was rather rather announced in view of the results of the last seasons. And given the results of this start to the season in particular: Émilien Jacquelin is still the reigning world champion. It was almost normal to bring back a medal from these Olympic Games. Now, between being able to bring back a medal and doing it, there is a gap, and this gap has once again been crossed, I am delighted.
You know our two medal winners from Isère well, you trained them. I imagine there is a little twinge in the heart when you saw them with the medal around their neck?
It’s always a great moment and then it’s a relief. Because the Olympic Games for someone who is a runner, it’s great. But when you’re an actor, when you live them and there are expectations, it’s very stressful. This was particularly the case at the level of the mixed relay, Olympic champion in title. It’s the first race, it’s the one that launches the Olympic Games, so it’s always good to get a medal, it relieves all of French biathlon.
What impact have these Olympics had on your students? Does it motivate them or maybe it distracts them?
It’s very motivating and it gives a lot of credit to the work we do at the regional level, at the national level. And above all, it has a lot of impact in the clubs. Many children take a license in Nordic ski clubs to do biathlon. So that’s really a good thing. The clubs are now equipped with equipment to accommodate this new population. Proof of this: next Saturday, we will organize a regional biathlon race, open to children from U9 to U17, and there should be 450 children at the start of the competitions.
So, there is a real enthusiasm. The future champions, do you already spot them at the climatic high school?
Within the climatic high school, these are already people who have achieved results at the national level. We enter on sporting criteria above all. So these are students who have been identified upstream.
But I imagine that not everyone will end up in the Olympics? There is still a lot of work to get there…
Yes of course. Afterwards, it is also a beautiful school of life what we do at the Espoir biathlon center in Villard-de-Lans. They are taught to do biathlon, they have a quality school curriculum, they all leave with at least the baccalaureate and they learn to fight during these four years.
Norway invests three times more than us in biathlon. This can also be seen in the results, with 14 medals. Should we align ourselves with them, particularly in terms of funding?
I can hardly answer this question, I am a sports technical adviser, I am a state executive. Now, I think we compete very well with the Norwegians, who are much more likely to do biathlon. So we try to counter them by perhaps making more quality. Besides, the Norwegians didn’t invent anything, look at their shooting coach (Siegfried Mazet, editor’s note), they stole him from the French, at the time of Martin Fourcade. So personally, I admire what Norway is doing, but they have also been my best enemies since I was little. So we don’t copy them, but we try to make a French school to be up to this nation.